In 2003 Barbara and Art moved from Kentucky to Umbria. These are their adventures.
In 2010 Barbara and Art moved back to Kentucky, ready for their next adventure.
In 2015 Barbara and Art gave up the snow and cold of Kentucky for the sunshine and warmth of Florida.

Friday, June 30, 2006

WHAT'S NEW IN JUNE

One of our Italian friends, I can’t remember if it was Giacomo or Maurizio, told us that we could have the glass in our windows replaced with double-paned glass. This if course would save us tons of money, so we asked our local door and window guy, Dino, if he could do this for us. “Ma certo!” he said!

Once we returned to Italy at the end of May we called Dino to let him know we were ready for the new windows. All that need to be redone at this point are the hall window, the window/doors in the living room and the guest room, and the window in the upstairs bathroom.

Dino stopped by the house to take final measurements, and while we were talking he suggested that we make the bathroom window open just like the kitchen window….hinged at the bottom as well as the side. This would make using that window so much easier, and for general purposes we could just leave it open at the top on a regular basis. We still need for the window to be able to open from the side so that we can close the shutter if needed. Dino’s also making us a screen for that window, so we’ll now have much needed ventilation in that room.

I guess what he does is take out the old glass and use a router to cut a wider groove, but whatever, the new windows look fantastic! Not only do we now have double panes of glass, the windows themselves have been cleaned, re-varnished, and now have weather-stripping all around. No more stuffing folded up strips of newspaper into all the edges!!!

Our next and final project with Dino will for him to clean our front door and to replace the side panel with one made of frosted glass to let in more light. We’ll also have iron bars set into that section for security. Now all I have to do is figure out what we’ll do for a front door while it’s being re-finished!

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The other Dino, the one who works in the park behind out house, has had a family emergency. Last Thursday he received news that his son had been injured in an accident and had been taken to the hospital in Terni. On Friday Art asked Gioberto about the accident, and we were told that it was a farming accident and that the son was in grave condition. The other worker, Luciano hasn’t been back, so I guess the work will stop until Dino is able to return.

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We finally bought a freezer last week. I was certain that I wanted an upright, not only for the smaller ‘footprint’ it would make, but also because it’s just so damn easy to lose things in the bottom of a chest freezer. Unfortunately the upright freezers cost quite a bit more than the chest style, so I was determined to find the best deal.

Appliances are rated here for energy usage just like they are in the states, and I was only interested in a freezer rated A+. I also didn’t need a huge freezer, but wanted to also make sure that I didn’t buy one that was too small. A delicate balance to be sure, especially since I’m not really sure how much freezer space I need.

We got prices from the local shop in San Venanzo, but we didn’t like the style or the price. We checked out several other places, and eventually found the lowest price at the UniEuro near Magione. Knowing that there would be a delivery charge, we decided to see if we could get the freezer into our car for the long ride home.

Although the stock clerk helped us to load the freezer and tied the hatchback down with plastic, we hadn’t gone very far at all when it stretched out and the hatchback flew open. Eventually I was able to get everything fastened down, but it was a slow ride and I was quite nervous, especially when we were on steep hills!

After rearranging the entire garage, including moving piles and piles of very heavy tiles, we eventually decided to put everything back where it had started out and we put the freezer next to Art’s work table. I’ll still have easy access to it, and we won’t ever have to worry about the car accidentally backing into it.

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A strange site greeted us today as we rounded the corner. San Venanzo is a small farming community, but this was strange even for San Venanzo: two horses were tied up to a post in front of the church! Their saddles and blankets were sitting on a nearby bench, and across the street the riders were enjoying something to drink. Cowboys in San Venanzo, just hangin’ out at the local saloon….

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On Monday we’ll get to meet a couple from Poland who are here searching for a second home. Anna contacted me after reading the blog, and we’ve put her in touch with Wendy who has several places to show here. Anna is Polish, her husband American, and I know it’ll be interesting to hear their story.

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Looks like the roof won’t be getting cleaned next week as promised. Today when we rode past the gas station, the tanks were back out of the ground. The gas station is getting a complete makeover, and the old tanks had been removed, the area excavated, new tanks had been set in, and concrete sleeves had been mounted to them. Seeing the tanks now sitting out of the ground next to the gaping whole was quite a surprise!

When we came back into town, a truck was blocking the road, so Art took the opportunity to get out of the car and ask Mauro what had happened. Although I can’t imagine how it happened, maybe a water line was cut, but the area surrounding the tanks had flooded with water! The truck was now pouring a load of gravel into the hole to help with the drainage. Could there be a spring under there? Guess we’ll have to get more details.

The funny part was when Mauro told Art that he was changing his name to Pinocchio! The inference was that he had lied when he told us the work on our roof would start on Monday. Hopefully this won’t delay things too much.